Renesas Electronics Corporation has launched the TP65B110HRU, the industry’s first bidirectional GaN switch based on depletion-mode (d-mode) technology, enabling both positive and negative current blocking in a single device.
The new 650V SuperGaN® device is designed to simplify power conversion architectures in applications such as solar microinverters, AI data centers, and onboard EV chargers. By replacing traditional back-to-back FET configurations, the device allows true single-stage power conversion, reducing component count, system complexity, and losses.
Conventional silicon and SiC switches are unidirectional, requiring multi-stage topologies or back-to-back configurations that increase switch count and reduce efficiency. In contrast, Renesas’ bidirectional GaN device integrates this functionality into a single component. For example, a solar microinverter can reduce its switch count by half and eliminate DC-link capacitors, while achieving efficiencies above 97.5%.
The device combines a high-voltage GaN structure with co-packaged low-voltage silicon MOSFETs, enabling compatibility with standard gate drivers without requiring negative gate bias. This simplifies gate drive design while maintaining robust switching performance in both hard- and soft-switching topologies. With dv/dt immunity exceeding 100 V/ns and low on-resistance of 110 mΩ, the device supports high-frequency, high-density designs.
From a technology perspective, this marks a significant step toward system-level simplification in power electronics. Bidirectional GaN enables new converter topologies, particularly in high-growth segments like AI power infrastructure and distributed energy systems, where efficiency, density, and BOM reduction are critical.
Renesas is positioning the device within its broader system solution strategy, offering evaluation kits and “Winning Combinations” that integrate controllers, drivers, and power devices to accelerate time-to-market and reduce design risk.
Original – Renesas Electronics